The Ron Paul blimp, and the emergence of the decentralized campaign
Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul have pooled their personal money to launch the blimp pictured above. It bears the copy “Who is Ron Paul? Google Ron Paul.” As with the record-breaking $4.3 million fundraising effort on November 5th, the blimp is not affiliated with the campaign.
Paul’s uniquely decentralized campaign has advantages in avoiding draconian campaign finance laws that limit campaign contributions. Last month, a Ron Paul supporter spent $85,000 of his own money to buy a full-page ad in USA Today, and over $250,000 has been donated to buy “shares” of blimp flying time.
Another supporter-driven “moneybomb” fundraising effort is planned for December 16th, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party of 1773 in which Boston residents dumped tea into the Boston harbor to protest excessive taxation. This fundraising drive is expected to raise even more money than the one on November 5th, easily pushing Paul’s 4th quarter fundraising total over his $12 million goal (only $570,000 to go, as of this writing). Although the amount of money raised by other candidates won’t be known until they file their FEC papers at the end of the year, it’s quite possible that Ron Paul could trump all Republican candidates in terms of money raised.
